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An Illinois man will remain in custody pending his initial federal court appearance on a charge alleging he kidnapped a visiting University of Illinois scholar from China who authorities believe to be dead.

Yingying Zhang, the 26-year-old daughter of a working-class factory driver from China, disappeared on June 9, just weeks after arriving at the Urbana-Champaign campus in central Illinois where was doing research in agricultural sciences. She was expected to begin work on her doctorate in the fall.

Yingying Zhang's father Ronggao Zhang, left, and her friend Xiaolin Hou carry the banner as community members join together to walk for Yingying, a Chinese scholar who went missing three weeks ago, Thursday, June 29, 2017, in Urbana, Ill. Illinois students and others from the wider community are gathering at the Urbana-Champaign campus to show support for the Chinese scholar who mua ruột chăn everon ở hà nội hà nội (https://everon.asia) disappeared three weeks ago. (Holly Hart/The News-Gazette via AP)

Zhang's disappearance fed anxieties of families of Chinese students studying in the U.S.

Authorities declined comment when asked if they had any leads on where Zhang's body might be located.

Fangqin Wan, a graduate student at the University of Illinois, walks for Yingying Zhang, a Chinese scholar who went missing three weeks ago, Thursday, June 29, 2017, in Urbana, Ill. Illinois students and others from the wider community are gathering at the Urbana-Champaign campus to show support for the Chinese scholar who disappeared three weeks ago. (Holly Hart/The News-Gazette via AP)

This undated photo provided by the University of Illinois Police Department shows Yingying Zhang. Police said the FBI is investigating the disappearance of Zhang, a Chinese woman from a central Illinois university town, as a kidnapping. Zhang was about a month into a yearlong appointment at the University of Illinois' Urbana-Champaign when she disappeared June 9, 2017. (Courtesy of the University of Illinois Police Department via AP)